I’ve been meaning to start blogging about my outdoor adventures for some time, but have always stopped short of typing the first few words – how does one know when they have enough experience to share anything meaningful? When does an outdoors newbie cross the line and think of themselves as experienced enough to have something to say? Lockdown has, for all its hellish impact on all our lives, given us a chance to reset and perhaps take stock of the things we do – and so recently I have found myself totting-up my hill bagging tallies, poring over notebooks from long-distance walks, editing photos from the last couple of years of hiking adventures, and I feel perhaps I might just have had enough adventures to be of at least some interest, to someone, somewhere.

It all started in 2016, when grief and ongoing family illnesses made me crave an escape. I was no stranger to travelling, and had spent a lot of time in previous years hopping across Europe on short trips and adventures, but urban adventures no longer felt like the right fit for me, and I felt an inexplicable urge to head to Scotland. I’m glad I did. With some cheap boots on my feet and a lot of cheap gear on my back, I disappeared to Barra in the Outer Hebrides, with no skills, no experience, and even less clue about the fact that August is not necessarily the best time to camp there. I returned to the mainland, and my normal life, a changed man. Since August 2016 the outdoors have been more an obsession than a hobby, and thanks to the likes of Walkhighlands and their incredible hillwalking resources, thanks to the myriad guidebooks and maps out there, thanks to blog posts by other, more seasoned adventurers, I have spent the last 3-and-a-bit years getting out at every opportunity. Next came the Hebridean Way, the island bagging, the wild camping, the fascination with hill bagging, a few more long distance walks. At the time of starting this blog, my hill lists are as follows:

• 12 Munros
• 29 Corbetts
• 28 Grahams
• 74 Donalds
• 120 Wainwrights
• 111 Hewitts
• 92 Scottish Marilyns
• A host of other, little hills, often of no less character

And so, sitting on top of this list of hills and exploits, having spend a lot of time either in my tent or bivvy bag staring at the stars, having walked and scrambled in all weathers and at all times of year, I finally decided I can call myself an outdoor enthusiast rather than a newbie walker, and it is time to start typing, at long last.

I hope the blog posts that follow are of interest. Perhaps you’ve walked the same routes, climbed the same hills; maybe I can learn from fellow outdoors people; maybe I’ve met you on the hill already, or our paths might yet cross out there in the wilderness; maybe, just maybe, my posts will be of some interest or inspiration when you’re planning your own adventures and exploits.

Most of my outdoor trips are done using public transport. All of them are done on a budget. It amazes me, when I’m sitting atop a somewhat remote Donald in southern Scotland, that I was able to get there on a string of trains, ever-smaller buses, and a healthy dose of determination. I hope that the theme of ‘getting out there no matter how awkward the place may be to get to’ rings clear in my blog posts, and finally I should make mention of the power of the great outdoors to soothe the soul. Fortunately, the idea of ‘mountains for the mind’ is a popular and well-documented one these days, and so many people I meet have tales to tell about how the great outdoors is good for their mental health, their wellbeing, their soul. My own adventure started out of painful and emotional times, and I have found the great outdoors to be the greatest healer of all.

I hope you enjoy my posts, and perhaps I’ll see you on the hill…